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As we hold the fashion industry more accountable towards improving its sustainability practices, we also need to hold ourselves responsible for making more ethically conscious shopping decisions. Introducing: Shop It Forward — our new bi-weekly column that highlights the brands and retailers making an active difference in the world through charitable initiatives, because it’s time to start shopping smart.

What is love? And before you go into a full-blown karaoke rendition of Cher’s Believe, give us a listen. Sure, you might “love” the new Travis Scott album or Ganni’s spring 2019 collection, but in terms of real love, what does it mean to you? Chrissie Lam posed this exact question in 2014, and from the flock of responses, got the idea for the Love Is Project. What started as a single Instagram post (what doesn’t nowadays?) soon became an international movement centered around what Lam calls her LOVE bracelets.

The bracelet’s design was inspired by Kenya’s Maasai tribe and their unique beading techniques. During her time spent in Kenya, Lam partnered with an organization dedicated to finding stable jobs for women in rural parts of the country called Maasai Mums. With their help, by 2015, Lam’s LOVE bracelets were garnering close to 250K likes on Instagram and being sold in numerous retailers, including American Eagle Outfitters and Whole Foods, creating nearly 400 jobs for Maasai Mums. The project has transformed into more than just a charitable cause — it’s sparked a conversation about what love means and how it can change the lives of people around the world.

With friendship bracelets at peak popularity (if you haven’t bought a D.I.Y. bracelet-making kit yet, you definitely should), there’s no better time for Shop It Forward to highlight the Love Is Project. Jump on this kitschy jewelry trend by buying one (or more) of the LOVE bracelets ahead. The best part is, your purchase really does matter.

Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) has been making a lot of noise about opposing Russian asset Donald Trump, giving impassioned floor speeches and making vague threats, but when it comes down to actual action he’s been missing. His voting record attests to that: he’s with Trump more than 80 percent of the time. But now Flake is missing in action in the Senate, carrying on with the plans he had made for August before Majority Leader Mitch McConnell decided the Senate would work through the month instead of recessing as is tradition.

Right now Flake is in Zimbabwe, monitoring that country’s presidential election, and making some pointed statements about it. He praised president Emmerson Mnangagwa’s “commitment to transparency and universally accepted standards for free and fair elections” following the nearly 40 years of Robert Mugabe’s strong-man rule. Mnangagwa, Mugabe’s successor is allowing elections for the first time in four decades. “As the ballots are counted and the election results are determined, I urge the Zimbabwean government to remain committed to peaceful, fair, and democratic reform,” Flake said.

Which could be Flake’s not-so subtle message to Trump, albeit a little big of a passive aggressive one. In fact, what Flake appears to be doing is resisting Trump in absentia. James Hasson, a writer at the Federalist, reports that Flake is deliberately staying away from the Senate and specifically the Judiciary Committee on which he serves, to prevent McConnell from carrying through his August plans—shoving through as many judges as possible. He’s also, Hasson says, purposefully tying up the Senate so that Vice President “has to stay in DC to break ties instead of campaign for R candidates.”

You have to consider the source here, a far-right Trump supporter who is no fan of Flake. He is railing against Flake for “screwing the GOP caucus (and conservative causes generally, by slowing pace of confirmations).” And he’s reporting this all on the word of anonymous Senate staffers who are supposedly unhappy with Flake. If Flake is indeed planning to disappear for the month of August, fine.

If he’s doing it to resist Trump, he do more good by doing his resistance in the Senate where his opposition could possibly help by getting Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) to put their votes where their mouths are. But again, all this could be a far-righter’s attempt to pressure Flake. Which means he’s not going to be anyone’s savior here, and we have to keep up the pressure on, particularly when it comes to the Supreme Court nomination of Brett Kavanaugh.

Being fired at work
Retirement from work
Major business readjustment
A major change in financial state
Changing to a different line of work
A major change in responsibilities at work
Outstanding personal achievement
Troubles with the boss (yes, that can happen even when you’re your own boss)
Major changes in working hours or conditions
Taking on a loan

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While not all of these come with every business startup venture, chances are you’ll have to deal with at least two or three.

Sometimes, the “stress list” doesn’t stop with the above items. Rather than leaving your old job with severance pay or resigning according to well-laid plan, you may be dealing with a situation similar to one of the following:

Your old employer folded without warning and left you with virtually nothing to live on.
You were on the losing end of a major lawsuit, and the court took most of your assets.
You’ve divorced or been divorced by a spouse who was the primary wage-earner for your household.
A family member for whom you were the caretaker has recently died.
You’ve just been released from a psychiatric hospital or addiction detox center.
You’ve just been released from jail.

In such cases, you have to deal with stress-inducing transitions beyond those directly related to starting a new business—transitions that may have seriously shaken your self-confidence or others’ confidence in you.

When you’re simultaneously starting a business and starting over in life as a whole, success on both fronts requires managing your overall life and attitudes with care.

Here’s how.

1. Don’t try to jump into a new business venture the day after a major life shake-up

As a child, did you ever find yourself still in bed after a bout with the flu, pouting because you felt well enough to get up but Mom insisted you needed an extra day’s rest to fully recover? Well, Mom really did know best—and the same principle applies when illness goes beyond the physical.

People under treatment for addiction disorder, for example, are frequently advised to spend several weeks in inpatient care after physical withdrawal is complete, getting professional help developing coping strategies to reduce the risk of returning to drug use when life’s old pressures reassert themselves.

Your own life shakeup might not have been drug-related or involved diagnosable illness, but chances are it left you with some emotional baggage that could interfere with the clear judgment essential to entrepreneurship.

Before writing your business plan and applying for any licenses, ask yourself honestly:

Have I gotten advice from a professional counselor? Seeing a therapist doesn’t mean you’re “crazy”; it’s your best source of sound advice on what you’re ready for and what you need to deal with.
Do my emotional wounds still feel raw? If so, you probably need more time to heal before taking on major new challenges.
Do I really believe I can do this? If not, why not? It’s very hard to succeed in a business if you go in with the attitude “I’ll probably fail”—and if you’re coming out of an abusive relationship or have recently seen your world turned upside down, you’re probably harboring serious self-doubts. Face up to these and practice affirming your potential before embarking on a business venture.
Am I starting something new primarily “to forget”? Think twice before shoving things into the back of your mind and throwing yourself into your work; buried “issues” can sabotage your progress without your even realizing it.
Do I have any “I’ll show them” attitudes? Try to forgive before you move on; hard feelings are dangerous baggage to carry into any new venture.

There’s another consideration that deserves a section of its own:

2. Take steps toward breaking any old habits that had a hand in instigating your life shake-up

If you don’t, these same habits will almost certainly wind up sabotaging your business progress.

Common habits that wreak havoc on effective living and on success in business include:

Chasing instant gratification. Symptoms: buying things on credit without a thought of how and when you’ll pay the money back; saying an immediate “yes” to everything that hints at new and exciting experiences or instant ROI; quitting anything that fails to yield obvious results within two weeks.
Casting blame. Symptoms: sinking into self-pity at every frustration; losing your temper daily; making “not fair” a regular part of your vocabulary; taking appointment-rescheduling requests as personal insults.
Expecting too much. Symptoms: beating yourself up over forgetting one punctuation mark in an email; cramming your schedule to bursting; counting on luck to achieve what your gut tells you are unreasonable commitments.
Being overly timid. Symptoms: opening every request with 300-word “if it’s not too much trouble” introductions; constantly saying “but” or “what if”; never actually asking for what you want.

The question of bad habits and the baggage they create leads to the next point:

3. Know what to let go of and what to keep

Even after you’ve dealt with past issues, they can continue to drag your new venture down unless you’re clear on what to let go and what to retain.

What you should let go of:

Any grudges or self-blame. It doesn’t matter how much was or wasn’t your fault: focusing on “making up for it” or “making them pay” generates chronic negative energy that fogs your judgment and repels progress.
Obsessing over “what went wrong.” Whether or not you know definitely, constantly thinking about “wrong” only generates dangerous over-caution.
Worrying about the same thing (or another “disaster”) happening again. Concentrate on what you want to go right, not on what might go wrong.

What you shouldn’t let go of:

Solid lessons learned. To forgive and forget is advisable, but not when you forget your mistakes to the point of making them again and again.
Healthy self-respect. Even if you were largely responsible for making a mess of your old life, you aren’t “worthless,” “stupid,” or a “born loser.” Appreciate your good qualities, accept your weaknesses, and use your knowledge of both to chart your future course.
Willingness to trust. However badly anyone hurt you, a “people are rotten” attitude has no place in business. You won’t win many clients or loyal employees by constantly hinting that they might screw you.

4. If you really blew it—landed in jail or otherwise were caught violating basic honesty and ethics—accept responsibility for convincing others you won’t make the same mistake again

No question, an open black mark on your record makes investors and potential clients uneasy about trusting you.

To minimize problems there:

Don’t make excuses. If you’re guilty, you’re guilty—no matter what pressures people or circumstances may have put on you. Most everyone these days is so used to (and tired of) hearing public figures try to explain away their failures that an honest “I was wrong” is actually refreshing, and will earn you an amazing amount of respect.
Be extra diligent about re-establishing a reputation for honesty and dependability. While missing deadlines and producing substandard work are unfortunately common among people of all descriptions, those with mistakes to live down are judged more harshly.
Cultivate ongoing support. This can come from your family and peers, from your religious congregation or community center, or from formal support groups if you’re in recovery or therapy. Every acquaintance is a potential source of referrals, and regular contact with people who know and believe in you will help counter temptations to get discouraged and give up.

The good news is, as an entrepreneur (as opposed to someone seeking a salaried job), you won’t usually have to deal with “clean record only” corporate policies, generic application forms with “have you ever been arrested?” questions, or extensive background checks. Business owners are more likely to be judged on their present merits, with less probing of their past records.

5. Take the first steps to plan and start your business

If you have a business idea in mind, this is a great time to start putting your thoughts on paper and thinking through what you’ll need to do to get a business up and running. Doing this initial planning can be really hopeful and energizing. Planning now means that when you’re ready to go, you’ll have the right pieces in place.

Starting over is as challenging as starting up, and doing both at once is doubly challenging. But don’t give up. You succeeded in surviving when your world was turned upside down—you can succeed as an entrepreneur!

Silicon Valley investor and once-prolific tweeter Marc Andreessen is back on Twitter with a new avatar — it’s a bald Charlie Brown clutching a book — and a summer reading list.

Andreessen, cofounder of buzzy venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, abruptly left Twitter in the fall of 2016, deleting all his tweets after writing, “Taking a Twitter break!”

The early Facebook investor and creator of the first popular web browser had been well known for his authoritative Twitter presence, firing off tweetstorms and retweeting messages about tech, economics, and politics, at all hours of the day. Andreessen has nearly 700,000 followers on the social media site.

“Thinking in Bets: Making Smarter Decisions When You Don’t Have All the Facts” by Annie Duke (2018)Amazon

Andreessen says: “Compact guide to probabilistic domains like poker, or venture capital. Best articulation of ‘resulting,’ drawing bad conclusions from confusing process and outcome. Recommend for people operating in the real world.”